The Undying Flame
by Akatsuki210
Summary: Asuma may have died years ago, but his son has followed in his footsteps as a ninja and is about to take the Chuunin Exams. Is the Will of Fire in his heart strong enough to carry him through? Future-fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Naruto_ or any of its characters, jutsu, etc.

**Warning:** There may be manga spoilers in later chapters.

* * *

**The Undying Flame**

_Chapter 1: The Opportunity of a Lifetime_

_This is going to be __**so**__ troublesome. It hasn't even started yet, and I can already tell._ Shikamaru scrutinized the memo from the Hokage that he held in his hands. He had known that this was going to happen sooner or later. It was inevitable when you took on a genin team. But he had hoped that he would have a year or two more to prepare.

No such luck, apparently.

Shikamaru lifted his eyes from the memo to look at the three students standing before him. Morino Noriki was twirling a kunai in his fingers, like he always did when he was bored. Or nervous. Or worried. Or feeling pretty much any emotion, for that matter.

Inuzuka Yamamoto, as usual, was too busy ruffling the fur behind her dog Matsu's ears to pay much attention to him.

His third student was watching him intently, having realized that something unusual was going on. His thick black hair stuck up in all directions, and his deep brown eyes missed nothing that happened in front of them.

His name was Sarutobi Tatemichi.

"I've just received a notice from the Hokage," Shikamaru told his team. "The Chuunin Exams will be held this year, in Konoha."

The group of genin exploded with excitement. "Can we enter? Can we please?" Yamamoto asked, while Matsu barked his agreement.

Noriki said nothing, but stopped twirling his kunai--a sure sign that he was interested.

Tatemichi's solemn face slowly split into a wide grin. "That's great, Shikamaru-sensei! I think we'll do really well." His grin faded a bit. "If you let us enter, of course."

Shikamaru sighed. "Being in the Exams will be troublesome. You'll all have to do a lot of extra training, and the Exams themselves are notoriously difficult. It's not unheard of for participants to be gravely injured or even die, and it's pretty rare to pass on your first try." Then he smiled slightly. "But I think all of you have a good chance of passing, even though this will be your first time competing. So yes, you can enter."

Shikamaru clapped his hands over his ears to drown out the deafening cheers from his students. _So troublesome..._

* * *

"I have wonderful news for all of you!" Lee beamed, while his three students glanced at each other, wondering what kind of hare-brained scheme their sensei had cooked up now. "The Chuunin Exams are being held this year, and I have decided that all of you should enter!"

"Really?" This outburst came from Hidaka Kondo, a tall, wiry boy with brown hair and matching eyes. His enthusiastic demeanor tended to remind Lee of himself at a younger age. "That's great, sensei!"

"Indeed!" Lee exclaimed. "This will be a great opportunity for all three of you to let your ninja ways shine!"

"Who else is going to be in the Exam?" asked one of Kondo's teammates, a blond boy named Ootani Toda.

"That is an excellent question! Shikamaru-san's team will probably be participating, and Mist, Sand, Cloud, and Rain will all be sending teams of their own! It will be an exciting competition!"

Shiranui Kajiya bit down pensively on the senbon she held between her teeth. "But sensei, we're pretty young to be competing in the Exams, aren't we? We've only been genin for a year, and a lot of the other competitors will have much more difficult missions under their belts."

Lee gave his team his best nice-guy pose, sunlight glinting off his blindingly white teeth. "Don't you worry! I will devise a training regimen that will help you develop the skills you need to win. I have faith in your abilities, for I can see that the flames of youth burn passionately within all three of you! And if you do not make Chuunin, I will hop around the village on one foot one hundred times!"

"Well, at least if we don't win, we'll have something amusing to watch afterwards," Toda muttered under his breath.

* * *

"Now, this isn't going to be easy." Temari's voice was stern as she warned the three eager children in front of her. "You're going to be training harder than you've ever trained before for the next couple of months, and in the Exam itself, you'll be putting your lives on the line! Do you think you can handle it?"

"Yes, Temari-sensei!" three voices answered in chorus.

* * *

Suigetsu leaned on his sword, watching his three students brawl with each other. A memo dangled loosely from his fingers. _A Chuunin Exam, huh? This could be kinda fun._

* * *

"Exams are comin', so y'all be ready. Don't slack off; keep training steady. Remember to stay calm and keep your head cool, otherwise you're gonna look like a fool." Killer Bee folded his arms and gazed at his students, hoping they had been impressed by both the quality of his lyrics and the importance of what he was telling them.

"...So, uh, does that mean we're going to be in the Chuunin Exams?" one of his students asked, looking completely unmoved.

Kids these days had absolutely _no_ appreciation for good music.

* * *

"You asked to see me, Amekage-sama?" One of Rain's best jounin knelt before Konan with one fist pressed against the floor. In the dim light filtering through the ever-present rainclouds, wood and metal finger-joints gleamed.

"Konoha will be holding a Chuunin Exam this year. I wish you to bring your team."

The jounin's head had been respectfully lowered, but now it shot up. "Including--"

Konan cut her off briskly. "Yes. You will bring your whole team. I think they are all ready."

The jounin smiled. "As you wish, Amekage-sama."

* * *

Throughout Konoha, there was a buzz of activity as word of the upcoming exams spread to shinobi and civilians alike. In his office, Naruto turned away from the window and faced the jounin he had selected to be proctors. "Sasuke-san, Sakura-san, Neji-san, I need to talk to you about the Chuunin Exams. I want this to be different from the previous Exams that we've held. Obviously, this information has to be top-secret, because it'll be useless if the students and sensei find out about it ahead of time." He grinned in a way that reminded them of the prank-pulling child he had been long ago. "I want them all to be totally surprised."

* * *

**A/N:** This is the first multi-chapter fic I've done in a long time that has a continuous plotline (as opposed to a series of connected one-shots), so I'm hoping it doesn't crash and burn spectacularly.

This is meant to be set 12-13 years post-canon.

Reviews would be welcome!


	2. A Test of Character

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I still don't own _Naruto_.

* * *

_Chapter 2: A Test of Character_

"Are you alright? You've barely touched your breakfast."

Tatemichi was so preoccupied that it took a moment for him to realize that his mother had asked him a question. "I'm okay, Kaa-san. I guess I'm just nervous about the Exams."

Kurenai smiled. "I remember the first time I took the Chuunin Exams. I was so worried about them that I couldn't eat anything for the entire day before the first test started. So then I was sitting there in the exam room, and my stomach was rumbling so loudly I was _sure_ everyone in the room could hear it."

Something about what Kurenai had said struck Tatemichi as odd. "What do you mean, the _first_ time you took the Exam? Did you have to take it more than once?"

"I did. The first time I took it, my team was eliminated during the second test." She reached over and ruffled Tatemichi's hair. "So, don't worry. It's actually pretty standard for people to take it multiple times."

"It's just...I've heard that the first test isn't like a normal exam. It doesn't have to do with fighting at all, it's all paper-and-pencil, like the tests on Ninja History we used to have at the Academy."

"Well, that's technically true. But remember, being a ninja is all about seeing underneath the underneath. You shouldn't expect a shinobi test to be exactly what it appears to be. That's all I can tell you. Now eat your breakfast--even if it's only a paper-and-pencil test, you'll still need your strength."

"Yes, Kaa-san."

* * *

Tatemichi fidgeted, staring around the huge room at the assembled teams. "Sensei, isn't this the arena where preliminaries for the Third Exam are held?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, when preliminaries are necessary. I had my preliminary exam here, a long time ago."

Kajiya, the girl from Lee's team, ambled over. "Hey, Tatemichi-san, what's up?"

He shrugged. "Just waiting for things to get started, I guess. There sure are a lot of people taking the Exam this year."

Kajiya nodded. "You see those guys over there?" She pointed to a team on the other side of the room. Their sensei was tall and muscular, with bull's horns tattooed on one cheek. Despite being indoors, he was wearing sunglasses. His three students were leaning against a wall, looking bored.

"What about them?" Tatemichi asked.

"I heard that their sensei is the Hachibi jinchuuriki, and the Raikage's younger brother."

Tatemichi's eyes widened. "Really? They must be super-tough! We have to compete against _them_?"

"Hey," Shikamaru cut in, "don't let yourself get _too_ nervous. Remember, this Exam is about more than just brute strength. Character, teamwork, strategy, and the ability to make the best of a bad situation are all just as important. Have I ever told you how I got made a Chuunin?"

Tatemichi shook his head.

"I forfeited my match when I saw that I couldn't win. The Examiners decided that it showed I wouldn't lead my team on a suicide mission, and promoted me. Losing your matches doesn't guarantee that you won't pass, and winning them doesn't guarantee that you will."

At the front of the room, Naruto was conferring with the Kages and Examiners. He turned to the crowd of students and sensei, and raised his hands. "Everybody! Welcome to this year's Chuunin Exams! I'm going to introduce you to the Examiners, and they'll go over a few of the basic rules." The people around him had separated into two groups. To his left were the other Kages: Gaara, E, Mei, and Konan. To his right were three shinobi that all the Leaf Ninja in the room recognized.

"The proctor for the First Exam will be Uchiha Sasuke." A murmur went through the room at the mention of his name.

"The proctor for the Second Exam will be Hyuuga Neji. And the proctor for the Third Exam will be Haruno Sakura."

There was polite applause from all of the students and their jounin teachers.

"Before we explain the rules, why don't you all introduce yourselves to each other?" Naruto scanned the room for a moment, then added, "Shikamaru-san, why don't you go first?"

"Aw, man, why do I have to go first?" Shikamaru whispered under his breath, then said more loudly, "I'm Nara Shikamaru, and these are the members of Konohagakure Team Seven: Sarutobi Tatemichi, Morino Noriki, and Inuzuka Yamamoto." Yamamoto's dog barked enthusiastically. "Yes, and Matsu too."

Tatemichi noticed that there was a flutter of activity when his clan name was mentioned, just as there had been for Sasuke. On the one hand, it made him proud that his grandfather was so well-known. But it also made him aware of how high the expectations for his performance were. _What if I can't live up to that?_

Lee was next. "Welcome, guests! I am Rock Lee, and this is the youthful Konohagakure Team Ten: Hidaka Kondo, Ootani Toda, and Shiranui Kajiya. We all promise to do our very best!" He finished with a Nice Guy Pose that made some of the students snicker.

There was a momentary pause, then the Sand jounin stepped forward. Her blond hair was tied into four pigtails, and she had what looked like a huge fan slung across her back. "I'm Sabaku no Temari, and this is Sunagakure Team Three: Tokunaga Yagame, Nomura Yagi, and Hasegawa Saito."

Tatemichi nudged Kajiya in the side. "Did she say 'Sabaku no' Temari? Does that mean she's the Kazekage's sister?"

Kajiya whistled, impressed. "Must be. How many relatives of Kages are participating in this Exam, anyway?"

The next one to speak up was the Cloud sensei with the sunglasses. "Yo, everyone, I'm Killer Bee. Everyone take a good look at my team, see? Kumogakure's Team Twelve: Horisawa Saji, Tatebe Watanabe, and Tatsuzaki Otsuka."

The Mist sensei appeared quite young compared to the others. Like Temari, he had an oversized weapon strapped to his back, though his was a sword rather than a fan. After sipping from a bottle of water, he said, "I'm Hozuki Suigetsu, and these brats here are Kirigakure's Team One: Mizukami Narita, Koike Suga, and Kaneko Uozumi."

Finally, the Rain jounin spoke. "My name is Kataoka Akisane, and this is Amegakure Team Nine: Adachi Natsume, Kozawa Sakamoto, and Fuuma Asagi."

"Whoa, take a look at that!" This time, it was Kajiya's turn to poke Tatemichi in the ribs. "That sensei has a puppet arm! I wonder if that means she fought in Rain's civil war."

"They had a civil war?"

Kajiya sighed. "Do you _always_ sleep through our Ninja History class?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Hey, I used to sleep through that class, too." Remembering that he was supposed to be a role model, he quickly added, "Of course, that doesn't mean that you should. Always pay attention to Iruka-sensei's classes."

Naruto cleared his throat. "Now that you all know who each other are, I'll explain a couple of things about the Exam. The most important is that there's no quota for how many Chuunin we promote. It's possible that all of you will pass the Exam and become Chuunin--but it's also possible that none of you will." He nodded to Sasuke, who stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"The first part of the Exam will take place tomorrow, in Room 304 of the Konoha Ninja Academy. This will be a paper-and-pencil test, so there's no need to bring your ninja equipment."

Tatemichi had heard that the First Exam was a written test, so he wasn't surprised. Some of the other students were, however.

"Eh? What kind of ninja test is a written exam? How does that test our strength as warriors?" This outburst came from the boy who Suigetsu had identified as Mizukami Narita. Nodding and muttering indicated that many others agreed with him.

"It's the kind of ninja test I've decided to assign you," Sasuke responded calmly. "If you feel it's beneath you, you are perfectly welcome to withdraw from the Exam."

"Uh, no, that's not what I meant at all," Narita muttered, backpedaling rapidly.

Suigetsu smacked Narita across the back of the head. "Idiot! Knowledge is important for a ninja too! You aren't gonna win any fights by being a dumbass!"

Sasuke's eye twitched.

* * *

All the examinees filed into Room 304, eyeing each other warily. As would be expected of a classroom, the space was filled with neat rows of desks and chairs, with a larger teacher's desk and a blackboard at the front. The blackboard was currently blank, and there was no one in the room to greet them.

Tatemichi and his teammates took seats towards the front, near the other Leaf genin. He looked around as everyone else settled in. The Mist team had taken seats at the very back of the room, and were chatting loudly amongst themselves. The Cloud students had slid into seats just behind the Leaf teams, and Saji was complaining about Killer Bee's pep talk--which had been delivered, apparently, entirely in the form of rap verse. Rain's entrants were taking seats right in front of the teacher's desk, while the genin from Sand sat along the side of the room nearest the windows.

No sooner had everyone sat down than Sasuke walked into the room, carrying a stack of papers. Some of the examinees fidgeted, while others sat up straighter. Sasuke perched on the teacher's desk at the front of the room and said, "Welcome to the first part of the Chuunin Exam. Before we get started, I'm going to explain a couple of special rules. First, you'll have one hour to complete the Exam. You must complete the test individually, and are allowed no tools other than your pencil and paper. Second, I don't feel like bothering to call out cheaters. That doesn't mean I won't see you doing it, however. If you see someone else cheating, raise your hand and tell me who it is. If you're right, I'll kick the person out. But be warned that if you mistakenly or falsely accuse someone, _you're_ the one who will fail the Exam. Third, there's one question that isn't listed on these papers. I'll give you that one at the end of the hour. Any questions?"

There were none. Sasuke handed out exam papers to everyone and retreated to the front of the room. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he announced, "You may begin."

* * *

Tatemichi was relieved to see that he could answer the first question on the test without too much trouble. It gave a list of equipment and a location, then asked the test-taker to describe what sort of traps they would set up in that location with the equipment given. Luckily, Shikamaru had emphasized the importance of taking advantage of such things in his training of Tatemichi's team, so he was well-equipped to answer.

The second question also went smoothly, but the third question was tricky. It asked about a relatively obscure detail regarding water-chakra manipulation--something Shikamaru hadn't spent much time discussing since no-one on their team was particularly good at it. With growing nervousness, Tatemichi realized that he wouldn't be able to answer the question on his own. _I'll have to cheat._ But how to do it without getting caught by one of the other students? Slowly and carefully, he formed a seal, trying to make it look like he was just fiddling with his pencil. As something between a big brother and father-figure, Shikamaru had asked his own father for permission to teach Tatemichi the secrets of Nara shadow techniques. The only thing Tatemichi had mastered so far was the most basic jutsu, Shadow Mimicry. As stealthily as he could, Tatemichi extended his shadow forward until it merged with the shadow of Lee's student Toda, who was sitting directly in front of him. The usual application of this jutsu would be to force Toda to mimic his movements, but he thought that he might be able to modify the technique somewhat. Instead of imposing his will on Toda, Tatemichi allowed the shadow to transmit Toda's movements to him, watching as his right hand began writing of its own accord. He smiled as he saw the answer to Question Three beginning to appear on his paper.

* * *

Sasuke surveyed the room, watching the activities of all the genin. With his Sharingan, he was almost guaranteed to detect anyone who was cheating, and had indeed observed many people doing so. In addition, he was fairly certain that some of the students had caught their competitors in the act, but with the "You fail if you accuse someone wrongly" rule in place, most people seemed reluctant to report cheating for fear of being mistaken.

Sasuke noted Tatemichi's use of a reversed Shadow Mimicry jutsu with interest. _Thinking of a new use for a jutsu on the fly--he's definitely Shikamaru-san's student._ The members of the Mist team were communicating among themselves with a sign language made up of ordinary-looking gestures: they would ask or answer each other's questions about the test by scratching their noses, rubbing their eyes, or sneezing softly. Two members of the Rain team, Natsume and Sakamoto, had their eyes squinched shut. Although their teammate Asagi's eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses, the rest of her face betrayed a look of extreme concentration, and Sasuke could see threads of chakra connecting all three. _They're talking to each other telepathically? Now there's a neat trick._

At one side of the room, Temari's student Yagame raised his hand.

* * *

Tatemichi noticed movement from the corner of his eye. Glancing over, he saw one of the Sand genin raising his hand. The boy was stocky, with red hair shaved into a buzz-cut. He had tough, weathered skin--not surprising for someone who lived in a desert.

_I hope he didn't see my trick with the Shadow Mimicry!_

Sasuke had been leaning forward, with his elbows on his desk and his chin in his hands. Now, he sat up straight and said, "What is it, Yagame-san?"

"Sir, Tatsuzaki Otsuka of the Cloud is cheating."

"What?" Otsuka slammed his pencil down on his desk and shot to his feet, looking outraged. "I am doing no such thing!"

Sasuke sighed. _Yagame-san must have noticed that Otsuka-san's chakra levels are elevated. But that's not from a jutsu he's using to cheat--he just has an Advanced Bloodline of some sort. So many people in this room are cheating, and Yagame-san picked nearly the only guy who isn't._ Out loud, he said, "You're wrong, Yagame-san. Otsuka-san isn't cheating. You are dismissed."

"That's not possible! I know I'm right!"

"Yagame-san--"

"Do you even know who I am? My father is Baki-sama, who was our Kazekage's sensei! How dare you accuse me of lying?"

Sasuke got to his feet. "I am not accusing you of lying," he intoned ominously. "I'm saying that you've screwed up. Or do you think your eyesight is better than mine?" He fixed Yagame with a rather disconcerting red glare.

"Er...that is..."

"Leave."

"Yes, sir." Yagame trudged out of the room.

"Well, now that we've got that little interruption over with, please continue." Sasuke sat back down, and Tatemichi breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

"The hour's up. Everybody put your pencils down. That means you too, Uozumi-chan."

Tatemichi considered his performance on the test, and felt reasonably satisfied. By using his Shadow Mimicry, he had been able to fill in all the questions that he couldn't answer on his own. He was sure he hadn't gotten full credit on every question, but he was also sure that he'd managed a decent score.

After collecting all the exam papers, Sasuke tossed them unceremoniously onto his desk. Without even glancing at them, he said, "Now, I'll give you the last question for the First Exam. It isn't so much a question as a practical test."

"But you said we couldn't bring any of our ninja tools with us!" Narita of the Mist protested. Sasuke ignored him.

"Each team must choose one member to continue on in the Exam. The other two will fail, and can retake the Exam next time it's held. You have ten minutes to make your selection. If a team refuses to choose one person to go forward, or is unable to reach a decision within the ten-minute time limit, all three members of that team will fail."

There was an immediate hubbub among the students. Tatemichi looked to his left and his right, and saw that both of his teammates were shocked. He was sure he looked the same to them. _What are we going to do?  


* * *

_**A/N:** The Exam is underway! I hope you're all enjoying the story.


	3. High Stakes Question

**Disclaimer: **Nope, still don't own it.

* * *

_Chapter 3: High-Stakes Question_

Noriki voiced the question that everyone in the room was thinking: "What are we going to do?"

Yamamoto looked down. "I...I don't think I did very well on the test. I should probably be the one to drop out, since I'm the least likely to have passed this part of the Exam anyway."

Noriki shook his head vigorously. "I want to advance as much as you two do, but, to be honest, I think my combat skills are the weakest of us three. I'm the least likely to succeed in the Third Exam, since that one's based on individual fights."

While his teammates continued to discuss, Tatemichi sat silently, looking pensive. He had a hunch, but if he was wrong about it, his whole team would suffer. He recalled what his mother had told him about the First Exam: _"Being a ninja is all about seeing underneath the underneath. You shouldn't expect a shinobi test to be exactly what it appears to be."_ Finally, he spoke up.

"Guys, I think this last question might be a trick."

"What? How do you figure that?" Noriki asked.

"Think about who our Hokage is. Would Naruto-sama really ask us to leave behind one of our comrades for the sake of our own advancement? Does that sound like the kind of lesson he'd want to teach young ninja?"

"But sometimes you might have to," Yamamoto pointed out. "I mean, if you have a choice between leaving someone behind and failing your mission..."

"No," Noriki said firmly, "I think Tatemichi-san might be right. My dad says that when he used to run the First Exam, he did similar trick questions. They were all ways of testing the applicants' character. And one of the things that Hokage-sama's always emphasized is the importance of standing together with your teammates. I bet he'd be more angry at a team that came back from a mission and said, 'Oh, by the way, we left our comrade behind to die so that the mission would succeed' than with one that said, 'We failed our mission because it was the only way to save our teammate'."

"But what if you're wrong?" Yamamoto asked worriedly. "Sasuke-sensei said that if we can't make a decision, we'll a_ll_ fail."

"Maybe so," Tatemichi answered. "But at least then we'll fail together. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't feel right getting promoted because I abandoned one of you guys."

Noriki took a deep breath. "Okay. I think you're right. Yamamoto-chan, do you agree? Should we refuse to pick someone?"

Yamamoto hesitated, but finally nodded, fists clenched with apprehension. "I...I don't know if Tatemichi-san's hunch is right. But I wouldn't feel right winning because I'd tossed one of you aside either. So either we _all_ pass or we _all_ fail." Matsu wagged his tail in agreement.

Tatemichi looked around, and saw that many of the other teams were huddled with their heads together, whispering to each other urgently. _I wonder how many of them will make the same choice?_ The Cloud Team seemed to have come to a decision, with Otsuka looking resigned. The two remaining members of the Sand team seemed very nervous, while Asagi of the Rain appeared to be strongly disagreeing with her teammates, shaking her head so vigorously that her blond braid swung back and forth.

"All right," Sasuke said languidly, "time's up." Although he wasn't making any particular effort to make himself heard over the chatter, his voice cut through everything else going on in the room nevertheless. "Each team, tell me your decision."

He turned first to the diminished Sand team. The two genin glanced at each other, and Saito stepped forward. "Sir, I resign from the Exam. Let Yagi-chan go forward."

"I see," Sasuke replied blandly. "You are dismissed, Saito-san." As Saito departed from the room, Sasuke redirected his attention to Killer Bee's students. Otsuka squared his shoulders and declared, "For the good of my teammates, I, Tatsuzaki Otsuka, hereby resign from the Chuunin Exam."

Sasuke nodded. "Very well. You are dismissed. And next is...Konohagakure Team Seven."

Tatemichi felt as though his heart was suddenly pounding much faster than normal. His mouth was dry, and he had to clench his fists to keep his hands from trembling. Noriki and Yamamoto were both looking straight at him. Even Matsu's dark eyes were fixed on his face.

"Team Seven?" Sasuke prompted.

Tatemichi took a deep breath, looked down, and closed his eyes. _I know I'm right about this. I just have to have faith in myself!_ He raised his head, opened his eyes, and slammed one fist down on the desk in front of him. "Konohagakure Team Seven refuses to leave one of our members behind! Either we all advance together, or we all fail together! We'd rather be genin forever than abandon one of our own-that's our ninja way!"

This outburst caused a stir among the other participants. There was a rapid flurry of conversation, which Sasuke made no attempt to stop. Then Asagi stood up so fast that she knocked her chair over backwards. "Amegakure's Team Nine also refuses to leave a teammate behind!" A dramatic thunderclap from outside-_Funny, I didn't notice it raining before_, thought Tatemichi-punctuated her statement.

"Konohagakure's Team Ten refuses as well! It would be unyouthful to abandon a comrade!"

"Kirigakure Team One refuses too!"

Silence followed this final declaration, and Sasuke let it build for a few moments. Finally, when the tension in the room was so thick that none of the genin could bear it anymore, he said, "Those of you who chose a teammate to leave behind...you all fail."

There was an immediate hubbub. Those who had just failed shouted angrily, while everyone else looked around in confusion. If the others had failed, did that mean they passed? Or had _everyone_ just failed? And why?

"A shinobi," Sasuke continued sternly, "must _never_ abandon a comrade. That's the worst thing you can do as a ninja. It's even worse than failing a mission, and certainly far worse than dying."

"But you told us to do it!" Yagi of the Sand protested.

"So? Are you a mindless puppet that has no choice but to always do what it's told?"

"You're our superior; are you saying you wanted us to disobey your instructions?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied bluntly. "A ninja who can't obey the rules may be ridiculed and called trash, but those who won't take care of their friends are even worse than trash." His gaze swept the room, and those who had chosen to give up a teammate looked away, ashamed. "These people beside you have been with you through thick and thin. Some of you have already been through life-threatening situations together. These are your best friends. Over time, they'll become as close to you as family. You must never, _ever_, do anything to harm them-even if you're directly ordered to. Even if the only alternative is to die. Those of you who understand that...are worthy to advance. Konohagakure Team Seven, Konohagakure Team Ten, Amegakure Team Nine, and Kirigakure Team One: you all pass!"

* * *

"We did it! We really did it!" Yamamoto let out a whoop of delight, and jumped up high enough to brush the ceiling with an outstretched hand.

"And it's all thanks to you, Tatemichi-san!" Noriki exclaimed, throwing an arm across his teammate's shoulders.

"It wasn't anything special," Tatemichi said, brushing off their praise. "Some of the other teams figured it out too."

Noriki shook his head. "I don't think they did. Well, maybe those Rain guys, it looked like the chick on their team was convincing the other two to refuse. But Lee-sensei's team and the guys from Mist, I don't think they intended to refuse until we did."

After announcing that they had passed, Sasuke had sent their teams out of the room and down the hall to another classroom where, he said, the proctor of the Second Exam would be meeting them. Everyone was talking excitedly as they walked-and, of course, everyone was loudly proclaiming that they had known the final question was a trick all along.

Having reached their destination, the genin entered to find a bare room without any desks or chairs. Standing at the opposite end was a young man that the Leaf teams recognized as Hyuuga Neji. Everyone grew quiet as they faced him, waiting to see what obstacles they would have to overcome next.

"I'm impressed," Neji said without preamble. "For more than half of you to have passed the First Exam is unusual. But the next portion of your testing will be far more difficult. You may have heard of the special training area where the Second Exam will take place: the Forest of Death."

Those who were from Konoha-and even some of the foreign ninja whose friends or family had taken their Chuunin Exams in the Leaf Village-nodded. The others fidgeted apprehensively; no place called "the Forest of Death" could possibly be somewhere you wanted to be.

"I must warn you," Neji went on, "that you will be putting your lives on the line in this part of the Exam. It is entirely possible that some of you won't come back alive."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry this chapter is so short-but the last one was pretty long, so it all balances out.

I wanted this Chuunin Exam to have a "secret tenth question" that was actually a test of character, like the one in the manga, but obviously it couldn't be the same trick question, since people would have heard about it from others who took the exam before them, thus making it useless. I hope you guys like the idea that I came up with instead-it seemed like an appropriate one for Sasuke.

Also, for anyone who's curious, Inuzuka Yamamoto is meant to be the daughter of Kiba's older sister Hana, and Shiranui Kajiya (on Lee's team) is the daughter of Shiranui Genma (the proctor for the canon Third Exam, who always had a senbon in his mouth).


	4. Fighting Spirit

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own it.

* * *

_Chapter 4: Fighting Spirit_

The young ninja glanced around at each other nervously. Tatemichi had heard stories of the Forest of Death from Shikamaru and Kurenai. He knew that the place was home to giant centipedes, blood-sucking leeches, and a variety of poisonous plants. Not to mention the other teams that would also be making their way through the wilderness.

"Hidden deep in the forest," Neji began to explain, "are three stations that the Exam staff have set up. Your job will be to find one of these stations and defend it for three days. Please note that there are only three stations, and four teams remaining. This means that only three teams will continue on to the third part of the Exam. This is to eliminate the need for preliminaries, which have proved quite troublesome-if I may be allowed to borrow a phrase-in the past." He held out four cards, face-down. "Each team, please send one member up to draw a card. That will tell you which gate you'll start at." Tatemichi stepped forward and selected a card, which informed him that his team would be starting at Gate 3.

"When does the test start?" the Rain genin Sakamoto asked.

"You'll enter the forest in three days," Neji responded.

* * *

"So, the way I see it," Noriki explained, "there are three challenges to this test. First, we have to _find_ one of the stations. With only three of them in a huge forest, that won't be easy. Second, if another team has gotten there before us, we'll have to displace them. Third, if we successfully capture the station, we have to defend it until the end of the test."

"Part of that last challenge is endurance," Yamamoto pointed out. "We should bring enough food and water with us to last three days, so that one person doesn't have to go off looking for food and leaving only two to defend the station."

"It seems like this is also partly a test of trap-disarming and trap-making skills. I mean, if we find a station that's already occupied, the other team might have set up traps around it. And when we take control of a station, we should do the same."

The three of them sat huddled together at the Ichiraku ramen stand, trying to work out a plan for passing the Second Exam. "Finding a station shouldn't be too hard, with Matsu's nose on our side," Noriki pointed out. "I think we should start designing some traps to put up once we've secured it..."

* * *

Nervously, Team 7 stood outside their designated gate. They couldn't see any of the other teams, nor could they see Neji. His voice had come through the loudspeaker above the gate, telling them to take up their position and wait for the gate to open.

"You guys ready?" Tatemichi asked.

Noriki nodded wordlessly, and Yamamoto gave a confident, "Yes!" Matsu barked and lowered his head, prepared to take off running as soon as the gate opened.

The loudspeaker crackled with static. "The second part of the Chuunin Exam begins...now!"

The gate swung open, and the three teammates ducked inside.

The trees in the Forest of Death were huge and ancient, with foliage so thick that it blocked out most of the sunlight. The rich, dark soil was covered with a mat of fallen leaves, and birdsong echoed from all around. Once in a while, the sounds of something large crashing through the underbrush could be heard in the distance.

"Okay, Matsu, lead the way!" Yamamoto urged, and the little dog took a few steps forward, sniffing the ground tentatively. After a few minutes, he gave a decisive bark and dashed off between a couple of boulders.

The group sped through the forest, keeping a keen watch out for enemies. They crossed a small stream, and took a detour around a thicket of brambles with poisoned thorns. Eventually, they came to a clearing surrounded by a ring of white birches.

"Look at that!" Tatemichi exclaimed, pointing to the trees.

"Look at what?" asked Noriki. "They're trees."

"Look at the _branches_. This isn't a ring of trees, it's one giant tree with a whole bunch of trunks." Noriki and Yamamoto looked closer, and saw that Tatemichi was right. The branches of each tree were growing into those of the trees on either side of it. "They might have been separate trees once, but they've grown into each other."

"Whoa," Yamamoto said, grinning. "Well, we definitely found the coolest station."

"How can you know that, when we haven't seen any of the others?" asked Noriki, but even he was obviously impressed.

A small lean-to stood in the exact center of the clearing, with a flag bearing Konoha's symbol perched jauntily on its roof. After stowing their backpacks inside, Yamamoto and Tatemichi began setting up traps, while Noriki gathered firewood.

The first night passed uneventfully. When it got dark, the trio built a fire and sat around it, eating the rations they'd brought with them. At night, they kept watch in shifts, with those who weren't on watch sleeping in the lean-to.

In early afternoon of the second day, Matsu began to growl. "What is it, boy? Is someone coming?" Matsu barked three times, and turned towards one side of the clearing. "Three people, coming from the west," Yamamoto informed her teammates. "It must be one of the other teams."

"Get ready!" Tatemichi formed the seal used for shadow jutsu and waited, body tense. Which team would it be? Mist, Rain, or their fellow Konoha students?

A flurry of kunai sailed through the intertwined branches at the edge of the clearing. Noriki leapt forward with a kunai of his own in his hand, and knocked all of the flying blades away. Their unseen attackers unleashed another volley. Noriki parried this one too, but one kunai had a smoke bomb attached. A cloud of smoke surrounded the team. Tatemichi heard Yamamoto call from somewhere off to his left, "Wind Element: Clearing Breeze Technique!" It was a low-level jutsu designed for dissipating clouds of smoke or poison gas, and it did its job. A sudden breeze wafted away the smoke, revealing the three members of the Mist team charging into the clearing.

Noriki grinned as Narita, the one who'd complained about the First Exam being a pencil-and-paper test, stepped on a tripwire. Shuriken flew from the traps set in the branches of the trees, heading straight for him. To Noriki's suprise, Narita didn't even try to knock them away, and all of them hit their mark. There was a puff of smoke, and Narita disappeared-a bunshin.

Suga and Uozumi set off traps as well, but they too turned out to be just clones. _They sent bunshin in first to get rid of the traps,_ Noriki thought with grudging admiration.

Now the real Mist team appeared, being careful to enter the clearing through the same paths their bunshin had taken. Suga hurled a small canister into the air above Noriki's head. "Noriki-san, get down!" Tatemichi shouted.

The canister burst...but what was inside wasn't an explosive powder or poison gas. It was plain, ordinary water. "Huh?" Noriki was confused, having expected something much more dangerous. But then Suga formed a set of handseals, and the water that had spilled all over Noriki began to congeal into chains that bound him in place.

"Shit!" Yamamoto cursed, quickly forming seals of her own. "Earth Element: Gaia's Grasp!" The ground around Noriki's feet rose up and formed itself into several small hands, which tore off the chains.

"That's impossible!" Uozumi explained. "Those chains are as tough as iron!"

"But they're still _made_ of water, and water element is weak against earth," Tatemichi explained.

"Heh, that's true," Narita said with a smirk. "But let's see what you do with this. Secret Technique: Advancing Storm!" He held both his hands out, and a swirling wind emanated from one. A lightning bolt shot from the other and mingled with the wind to create a vortex that spun towards Tatemichi's team.

"What the hell is that?" Noriki exclaimed. "That Secret Technique is really two techniques being cast at once, with the seals for each being done with just one hand. How can that be?"

"It must be some kind of Advanced Bloodline," Yamamoto said. "Matsu! Get ready for the Human-Beast Transformation!" Matsu yipped, and changed into an exact duplicate of Yamamoto. "Now, Combination Technique: Great Water Shield!" The two Yamamotos stood to either side of the oncoming maelstrom, and a wall of water formed between them. Narita's technique slammed into the wall with amazing force. The ground shook, and water sprayed everywhere.

The Great Water Shield protected Tatemichi's team from being cut or electrocuted, but the force of the colliding jutsu still knocked everyone off their feet. Tatemichi hit the ground with one shoulder, rolled, and sent his shadow across the ground towards Narita. He too had been thrown to the ground, and wasn't able to react in time. He tried to stand, only to find himself pinned in place by Tatemichi's shadow-binding. "How did she manage to produce a water jutsu of that level without a water source?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Tatemichi grinned. "It's a combination jutsu. Matsu may be small, but he's got a lot of chakra, and they pooled their energy together to create the water. Oh, and they both took soldier pills while everything was hidden by your smoke bomb. A tip for the future: remember that smoke bombs cut off your line of sight as well as your enemy's."

"Hey," said Uozumi. "Where's the other one? The other girl?" Sure enough, Yamamoto was getting to her feet a short distance away from Tatemichi, but Matsu was nowhere to be seen. The question of his whereabouts was soon answered as a pair of hands reached up from the ground behind Uozumi, grabbed her ankles, and pulled her down until only her head was above ground. Matsu surfaced a few feet away.

"Nice job, Yamamoto-chan," Tatemichi praised.

"What do you mean, 'Yamamoto-chan'?" Uozumi asked, clearly confused. "Yamamoto-chan's right...over...there..." Understanding dawned on her face as "Yamamoto" transformed back into Matsu. "You used the chaos caused by the impact of the two jutsu to escape underground and left Matsu in your place."

Now only Suga remained. He raised his hands to form seals. "You made a mistake using a water jutsu to block Narita-san's Advancing Storm," he gloated. "Now I don't even need to use the water I brought with me to bind you all."

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Noriki interjected, pointing to Suga's arms. Suga looked down, and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the exploding tags stuck to his wrists. "When...when did you plant those?"

"Does it matter?" Noriki asked. "The point is, all three of you are at our mercy now. Why don't you guys just get out of here and find another station for yourselves?"

The three Mist genin exchanged glances. After a tense few moments, Narita nodded. "We give you our word, if you let us go without hurting us, we won't attack you."

"...Okay," Yamamoto said, and yanked Uozumi out of the ground.

Tatemichi released the Shadow Bind on Narita, suppressing a sigh of relief. _That kid's strong; I don't know how much longer I would have been able to hold him._

"What about these?" Suga asked, shaking his hands at Team 7.

"They'll fall off on their own once you get a short distance away from the station," Noriki told him. After checking each other over for injuries, the Mist team left the clearing.

"Noriki-san," Tatemichi asked, "when _did_ you manage to plant those exploding tags on him?"

Noriki winked. "What exploding tags? That was just a genjutsu."

* * *

The third day passed quietly, although Tatemichi's team was alert and nervous. There was a constant light drizzle of rain, which didn't help anyone's mood-not only was it annoying, but the cloud cover meant that the shadows in the clearing were dim, which would put Tatemichi at a disadvantage if he had to fight. Luckily, neither the Rain team nor their fellow Leaf genin appeared.

At sunset, there was a puff of smoke, and the Konoha symbol on the flag that adorned the lean-to was replaced by writing in bold block letters.

_To the Victorious Team:_

_I am so proud of my former student for being asked to proctor this part of our illustrioius Chuunin Exam. And so, I have asked to be allowed to deliver the official messages to those who have passed. You have showcased the brilliant flame of your youth for all to see, and I give you my heartfelt congratulations! But it is not over yet! You will have three days to rest after this arduous Exam, at which point you will face the third and final stage of this great challenge! Do not let the flames in your heart waver! Leave the Forest, rest and recover, and proceed to the Exam Stadium at noon three days from now. Best of luck to all of you!_

_Sincerely,_

_Maito Gai_

Slowly, all three members of Team 7 broke into wide grins. "We did it! We passed the Second Exam! We passed!" The three human members of the team hugged each other while Matsu leaped around them, barking joyfully.

_Yes, we passed,_ Tatemichi thought. _But the Third Exam is single combat. Those Mist kids are tough, we don't know much of anything about the Rain team, and I don't want to fight other Leaf shinobi! Will I be able to win without the help of my teammates?

* * *

_**A/N:** Phew, writing fight scenes involving more than two characters is hard!

Next chapter, Asuma's son really gets his time to shine.

Reviews are always welcome!


	5. Underneath the Underneath

**Disclaimer:** I didn't own _Naruto_ in Chapter 1-4, and I still don't.

**Note:** "Tenshi" means "angel".

* * *

_Chapter 5: Underneath the Underneath_

Tatemichi let out a breath and cast his eyes up to the ceiling. He could hear the sound of many feet thundering past above him, as the hundreds of people who had come to view the third stage of the Chuunin Exam took their seats in the stands. He and the other remaining contestants had been sent to this waiting room upon their arrival. The only instructions they had been given were, "Wait there until the proctor tells you what to do."

Scattered around the room were Tatemichi's teammates, the Mist team, and the Rain team. On the third day of the Second Exam, after fighting Tatemichi and his friends, the Mist genin had gone after the Rain team. The Rain students had managed to repel them, and barely two hours before sunset, they had launched a desperate attack on Leaf's Team 10. The attack had succeeded, knocking Lee's students out of the Exam. Tatemichi didn't know whether to feel sad or relieved about this. On one hand, Lee's students were his friends, and he had wanted to see them become chuunin. On the other hand, their elimination meant that he wouldn't have to fight any of them now.

All three teams were eyeing each other warily. _The Mist guys have the best advantage in this part of the Exam, _Tatemichi thought, _because they've fought both of the other teams, so they have an idea of our abilities. But we don't know much about the Rain team and they don't know much about us. Essentially, for the Mist team, regardless of who they're assigned to fight, they'll have some idea what to expect. But for us, there's a one-in-three chance of being paired with someone whose abilities are almost completely unknown._

The door slid open, and Sakura entered. Immediately, every eye in the room was on her. "Everyone, listen up! The Third Exam is about to start. As you know, this round is focused on one-on-one combat. Match-ups will be selected randomly." She pointed to a screen above the door. "When it's time for a match to start, the names of the contestants will appear on that screen. When your name is chosen, proceed immediately to the arena with your opponet. And remember, this waiting room is being monitored, so don't bother trying to do anything to your opponent before the match starts. One last thing: you're to stay in this room until your own match, and there's no way to view the main arena from here. There's also a barrier around the arena that prevents mental contact between the participants and the spectators." She glanced at the Rain team as she said this, then continued on. "In other words, you aren't allowed to see any of the matches before your own."

"What!" Natsume of the Rain exclaimed. "But that means we can't cheer our teammates on! That isn't fair!" The Mist genin Narita was nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Maybe not, but that's the rules we've set up, and there's a good reason for them. If you don't like them, you can forfeit."

Both of Natsume's teammates had turned towards him. Sakamoto was giving him a "would you stop being an idiot" look, and although Asagi's eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, Tatemichi suspected that she was glaring at him too.

"Sorry," Natsume mumbled under his breath, not sounding the least bit apologetic. Nevertheless, Sakura nodded and pointed up towards the screen. "We're about ready for the first match-up," she said.

"I have a question," the female genin from Mist, Uozumi, interjected. "There's three teams left, which is nine people. How will we do one-on-one matches with an odd number of participants?"

"That's a good question," Sakura answered, "and there was a lot of discussion about it among the Exam organizers. You may not have noticed this, but during the Second Exam, there was a camera monitoring each of the stations in the Forest of Death, which allowed us to observe all of the fights. Based on your performances, the proctors, Kages, and feudal lords chose one member of the eliminated team to take part in the Third Exam. Think of it as a 'wild card' slot." She gestured, and Ootani Toda stepped through the door behind her.

Tatemichi leapt up from his seat. "Toda-san! Congratulations!"

Toda grinned. "You too."

Sakura cleared her throat, and everyone turned their attention back to her. "So, the first match-up is..."

The screen flickered, and words appeared on it: "Morino Noriki vs Koike Suga."

"Hmph," Suga smirked. "I won't fall for your genjutsu tricks this time."

Noriki smiled back. "What makes you think that's the only thing I've got up my sleeve?"

The two young ninja left, with Sakura following them.

* * *

"So, this is pretty crazy, huh?" Toda said, flopping down in a chair next to Tatemichi. Matsu trotted over and sat in front of Toda, wagging his tail, so the boy picked him up and started petting him. "We were all pretty bummed about losing so close to the end of the Second Exam, when suddenly Sakura-senpai comes in and explains that they need one of us to re-enter the Exam because they've got an odd number of people for the Third Exam."

"Y'know, I wonder about that," Tatemichi said. "I mean, it's usually tournament-style, so it doesn't matter if there's an odd number of participants. It just means someone gets an extra match. Or they'd do one preliminary match or something. But this makes it sound like each person's only going to get one match. It's kinda strange."

"Well, Hokage-sama _did_ say that he was making some changes to the Chuunin Exam. Maybe this is one of them."

"Did Sakura-senpai say why you were the one who got picked for the wild-card slot?"

Toda shrugged. "No. I figured maybe they wanted to see a medic-nin in the Third Exam or something; I'm pretty sure I'm the only one left in the running."

"That's a tradition in your family, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Toda replied proudly, "ever since the Third Great Ninja War." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I wonder how things are going out there?"

"I don't know," Tatemichi admitted. "Noriki-san's tough, but that Suga guy already knows he's good with genjutsu, so he'll be on the lookout for it."

"Yeah, but Noriki-san's seen Suga-san's techniques before, too," Toda reminded him. "I wouldn't count him out, if I were you."

Their conversation was interrupted by Narita jumping to his feet and pointing at the screen. "Look!"

The screen read: "Ootani Toda vs Mizukami Narita."

"Noriki-san's match is over already?" Tatemichi swallowed hard.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he won," Toda reassured him as he stood up. "Wish me luck, okay?"

"Yeah! Good luck, Toda-san!"

* * *

Tatemichi willed himself not to get up and pace. Each time a pair of students was called out of the room, he had felt an odd mixture of disappointment and relief. Part of him wanted to postpone his inevitable solo fight as long as possible, while another part of him wanted to get it over with quickly. _I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's not like I haven't been in fights before. Heck, this time there's even a proctor to make sure no one gets killed!_ But he had always had his teammates and sensei beside him in those other fights...and there weren't hundreds of people watching.

The other three students who remained-Uozumi, Sakamoto, and Asagi-all looked equally nervous. Uozumi was fidgeting, Sakamoto was pacing, and Asagi was hunched over and apparently staring at the ground.

A thunderous cheer came from the arena, and everyone looked at the screen, knowing that the current match must have ended.

"Kaneko Uozumi vs Kozawa Sakamoto."

Sakamoto and Uozumi exited the waiting room, leaving Tatemichi and Asagi to stare alternately at the screen and each other. After a few minutes, Tatemichi became aware that Asagi was humming something softly. She stopped when he glanced over at her, blushing and saying, "Sorry."

"No, it's okay. It actually sounded kinda pretty. What is it?"

She smiled. "Kaa-san whistles it a lot. She says Tou-san's best friend used to whistle it all the time. It's an old victory song."

"That reminds me of a story my Kaa-san told me once. She said that one time, when she and Tou-san were dating, Gai-senpai got Tou-san drunk and convinced him to stand underneath Kaa-san's apartment window and sing this really sappy old love song. She says it was horribly off-key, and he couldn't remember half the words, but it's one of her favorite memories of him anyway."

Asagi giggled at the mental image this created, but as something Tatemichi had said sunk in, her expression sobered. "What do you mean by, 'memories of him'?"

Tatemichi looked down at the ground, and said in a subdued voice, "Tou-san...he died before I was born."

Because of the sunglasses, Tatemichi couldn't tell exactly where Asagi was looking, but she turned her head away. "Mine too."

There was silence for a few moments, then the screen buzzed as their names appeared on it.

"Well, I guess it's our turn," Tatemichi said, feeling awkward. He had almost managed to forget that they would be fighting each other.

Asagi took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Let's go. We shouldn't keep the spectators waiting."

As they walked out the door, Tatemichi asked, "How many spectators do you think there are?"

Emerging into the stadium, he got an answer. The stands were packed with hundreds of people, whose clothing suggested that they had come from all over the continent. Tatemichi could see the Kages and feudal lords sitting in the front row, with the sensei and other students directly behind them.

Sakura stood in the center of the arena. She held up her hands, and the deafening applause from the watching crowd slowly came to a halt. "All right, Tatemichi-san and Asagi-chan, listen up! The rules for this part of the Exam are simple." She pointed to a silver bell that was tied to her belt with a thin thread. "Whichever one of you gets this bell first passes the Exam. You may use any means at your disposal-but if I order you to stop fighting, do it. And don't worry, I'll go easy on you." She smirked. "But not too easy."

Tatemichi quickly slid into a fighting stance, as did Asagi, but Sakura held up a hand. "Wait a minute! I know you're eager, but I didn't tell you to start yet. You need to introduce yourselves to the spectators first."

The two contestants looked at each other, and Asagi nodded slightly to Tatemichi. He stepped forward, and looked up into the stands. He saw Kurenai sitting between Kakashi and Genma. She smiled at him, and Tatemichi felt confidence flowing into him. In a loud voice, he announced, "I'm Sarutobi Tatemichi, grandson of the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, and son of Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai!"

The Leaf spectators roared, clapped their hands, and stamped their feet. When they finally quieted, Asagi stepped up next to him. She raised her hands, and Tatemichi resumed his fighting stance when he saw her form a seal. _What's going on? Sakura-senpai said not to start fighting yet! Wait a minute...that's only a release seal. She's not casting a jutsu, she's getting rid of one. But what could she have active already?_

There was a puff of smoke, and Tatemichi recognized that a Henge had just been dispelled. Asagi looked mostly the same: still female, still thirteen years old, still wearing the blues and grays favored by Rain nin. Only the color of her braided hair had changed, from corn-silk blond to deep indigo. "I'm Fuuma Asagi," she called out, "Daughter of the Ame no Tenshi, Hashikabe Konan..."

Then she pulled off her sunglasses as a light rain began to fall, revealing gray, ringed eyes. "...and of the Ame no Kami, Fuuma Pain."

* * *

_What...the hell?_ Scenes from the past couple of weeks flitted through Tatemichi's mind. He remembered how Asagi's refusal, on behalf of her team, to leave one of their own behind during the First Exam had been accompanied by a clap of thunder even though he could have sworn it wasn't raining. And on the third day in the Forest of Death, when the Mist and Rain teams would have been fighting, it had been raining as well. It had started up again the instant the two of them entered the stadium. That on its own didn't mean anything, of course. But hadn't Shikamaru told him that at the end of the battle in which his father died, the two Akatsuki they'd been fighting were called away by some sort of telepathic signal from their leader? And hadn't Sakura seemed to have the Rain genin specifically in mind when she talked about a barrier against mental communication? And then there was the fact that Asagi hadn't removed her sunglasses within sight of anyone else for the whole Exam, even when they were indoors, a habit that practically screamed "doujutsu."

Tatemichi fervently thanked his lucky stars that Asagi probably hadn't unlocked many of her bloodline's abilities yet-she would already be well beyond chuunin level if she had. _And we aren't fighting directly, either. I just have to beat her to the bell. _

Sakura pulled on a pair of gloves. "You two can start anytime you're ready," she declared.

Tatemichi and Asagi both stood still for a moment. _With that rain, she can read my chakra anyway, so there's no point in hiding my capabilities. Which means I may as well make the first move._ Because of the overcast sky, the shadows on the arena floor were dim, but they were still there. Tatemichi's shadow shot out towards Sakura, zigzagging across the stadium in as unpredictable manner as he could manage. Despite that, Sakura dodged gracefully.

_Not unexpected. But try dodging this!_ Tatemichi took out a light bomb and hurled it high into the air. When it exploded, the blinding light made the spectators gasp and shield their eyes. All the shadows in the arena became darker, and Tatemichi sent them towards Sakura from all sides. Shadows of the trees planted near the stadium walls, Tatemichi's own shadow, and even Asagi's, stretched towards the pink-haired jounin. Sakura darted towards the center of the arena, at the farthest point from the origin of all the shadows. Tatemichi gritted his teeth and tried to force the shadows to reach her, but it was useless.

A flurry of small, dark objects soared past his head, and he realized that Asagi had made a move. She had thrown a set of shuriken, and as they went whizzing towards Sakura, Tatemichi saw that they were jet-black. He'd heard about those, too. _Chakra-disrupting weapons. Great. _Sakura dodged those as easily as she had avoided his shadows.

"My turn again!" he shouted, and made a series of seals. "Wind Element: Gale Blast!" A gust of wind spun across the open space, aimed straight at Sakura.

Sakura curled one hand into a fist and punched the ground in front of her, raising a wall of rock that blocked the jutsu.

At the edge of his vision, Tatemichi saw Asagi's otherworldly eyes narrow and her face harden in concentration. As the rocks that Sakura had raised fell into a pile of rubble, her head jerked back as though she'd been punched. Her look of surprise quickly changed to a fierce glare, and Asagi stumbled backwards with a startled cry. "Who _was _that? Who else is in your mind?"

Sakura grinned. "That's my inner self. I lost my susceptibility to mental attacks a long time ago."

Tatemichi reached into his weapons pouch and drew out one of the two trench knives Shikamaru had given him when he became a genin.

_"These used to belong to your father. I think it's about time I entrusted them to you."_

Tatemichi threw the knife at Sakura's shadow, hoping that repelling a mind-invasion jutsu had distracted her enough to land a hit. That was one of the things Shikamaru had drilled into his students' heads: a shinobi took advantage of any openings he could get.

Sure enough, Sakura didn't dodge. But instead, she pulled out a kunai and whipped it at the incoming trench knife, deflecting it safely away from her shadow.

Tatemichi prepped more wind jutsu, intending to force Sakura towards the long shadows of the trees. Sakura, however, seemed determined not to go in the direction he wanted her to. Asagi was resuming the attack as well, this time using wires to guide the course of her chakra-disrupting shuriken. As both genin tried their best to defeat Sakura and claim the bell, Tatemichi thought he noticed something odd about the jounin's actions. Of course she wouldn't be using her full strength against the two of them-the contestants were supposed to have _some_ chance to win, after all. But it seemed to him that the level of power she was using was precisely calibrated. There was no way either one of them could defeat her, but the gap wasn't huge. One genin couldn't beat her, but two probably could. _If only this were a team fight!_

The thought brought Tatemichi up short. "Asagi-chan!" he called. "Hold up for a minute."

She looked suspicious. "What?"

"I think there's something else going on here. Just let me explain, I promise I won't attack you. I swear, on my honor as a shinobi."

Asagi fixed him with an unsettling gaze, and he felt a strange sensation, as if fingers were lightly brushing the surface of his brain. "I believe you. What do you think is happening?"

Tatemichi explained what he'd noticed about Sakura's use of her power. "I think we're _supposed_ to get the bell together."

"But there's only one bell, and two of us. It's not possible for us both to win."

"Think about it, though. Doesn't this seem like exactly the kind of test Naruto-sama would set for aspiring chuunin? He's always said that he wants to reform the whole ninja system, and the best way to do that is to change what qualities are selected for when choosing chuunin, since chuunin are team captains. With the major shinobi nations in an alliance, the most important quality, the one he'd want to look for in chuunin, is _teamwork_. It just makes sense. Plus, think about that requirement that we can't watch each other's matches. Why have a rule like that unless there's something the organizers wanted to keep hidden from us, something we're supposed to figure out on our own?"

"...You're saying that being prohibited from watching other matches only makes sense if there's some kind of trick, like in the First Exam," Asagi mused. "If we saw even one of the other matches, we'd see firsthand what the trick is."

"And look! Sakura-senpai's just standing around waiting while we talk. Do you know of any jounin that would fail to take advantage of an opponent being distracted? It doesn't make sense unless she's..."

"...Waiting to see if we figure it out," Asagi finished. "You may be right. But what if you're not? If we collaborate when we're not supposed to, we'll both fail for sure."

"That's true. But neither of us will get the bell alone anyway. The only way for us to have a chance of passing is to work together."

Asagi tipped her head back and stared up into the sky, as if she were looking for an answer in the rainclouds. "Okay. So how do we best combine our abilities to get that bell?"

* * *

Sakura smiled as the clouds began to lift. There were still light sprinkles of rain, but shafts of sunlight now glittered off them. _A sunshower. Enough rain to sense my chakra, and enough light to cast strong shadows. This is about to get a lot more interesting._

Asagi threw a few kunai made of the same black metal as the shuriken she'd used previously. Sakura didn't appear concerned-she'd dodged their other projectiles without any trouble, after all-but Tatemichi activated another Gale Blast to propel the kunai towards her at a higher speed than she was anticipating. She raised her own kunai and deflected them. Asagi jerked her hand back, and light gleamed on the wires that were attached to the kunai. The blades swung elegantly back through the air, heading for Sakura once more. This time, she dodged-only to see the shadows of the rubble pile she'd created earlier racing towards her. Grabbing a particularly large piece of the rubble, she launched it directly at Tatemichi, who was able to dodge only at the cost of losing control over the shadows.

Going on the offensive now, Sakura kept Tatemichi and Asagi moving by continuing to fling boulders. One missed Asagi closely enough that a smaller rock broke off from it and grazed her cheek. She wiped at the blood that trickled down from the cut, and grinned. "Perfect, that saves me the trouble of having to do it myself." Thrusting the blood-smeared hand up in the air, she declared, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A bird appeared in the sky, but it was like no bird Tatemichi had ever seen. Its eyes bore the same Rinnegan as Asagi herself, plugs made of black metal studded its body, and its beak looked almost crumpled. With a screech, it dive-bombed Sakura. As it approached, its shadow stretched out, and Sakura's eyes widened. _So, Sakura-senpai, do you think you can keep your eyes on both the bird above and its shadow below?_

Sakura darted and weaved, expertly avoiding both the bird's razor-sharp talons and its clutching shadow. At one point, the bird's shadow touched hers, and Tatemichi felt a thrill of victory. It was premature, however: with a burst of chakra, Sakura broke free. She tossed a kunai at Asagi, and this one seemed to shimmer in an unnatural way. "Look out, that's poisoned!" The kunai hit Asagi square in the chest with a dull thud, but she vanished in a puff of smoke and a log fell to the ground in her place. Asagi herself reappeared a few feet away, and gave Tatemichi a reassuring nod to let him know that she was unharmed.

"Wind Element: Spiraling Vortex!" Carefully avoiding Asagi's summon, Tatemichi utilized a different wind jutsu, one that was designed to cut the opponent as well as to knock them back. When Sakura evaded it, he sent a cluster of kunai with exploding notes attached. The relentless barrage of shadows, the summon's attacks, wind jutsu, and projectile weapons didn't wound Sakura, but they allowed the two genin to herd her back towards a specific point on the battlefield.

The bird dove straight at Sakura, aiming to impale her on its oddly squashed-looking beak. Instead of simply dodging, as she had before, she leapt into the air above it and slammed a vicious downward punch into the center of its body. It promptly disappeared, but that was fine with Tatemichi: Sakura was now suspended in midair, exactly where he wanted her to be. He hurled another bevy of kunai with attached exploding tags, knowing that Sakura wouldn't be able to dodge in her current position. The tags blew up, creating an impressive fireball...and leaving behind a charred log. As Tatemichi had expected, Sakura used the Kawarimi to move herself away from the direction that most of the attacks had originated from. _If I can force her to dodge just once more, that should do it..._

Tatemichi threw the second of his trench knives, with wire attached to guide it. Asagi supplemented his assault with more of her own projectiles. Knowing the special properties of both weapons, Sakura deftly avoided them...and as she did so, her shadow fell on the first trench knife, which she had deflected early in the match.

Tatemichi pumped a triumphant fist in the air. "Shadow Binding complete!"

With Sakura pinned in place, Tatemichi and Asagi boldly approached to retrieve the bell. As they got close, however, Sakura gritted her teeth and swung a fist at them. It was a clumsy blow, hampered by the Shadow Binding, but it demonstrated that she still had some ability to move. When the two genin jumped back to avoid the attack, she began to struggle, trying to reach down and pull the trench knife out of the ground.

"She's not completely immobilized!" Asagi exclaimed. "We've got to get the bell before she breaks free, but if we get close enough, she'll knock us out!"

Tatemichi was breathing hard, pouring all his energy into holding Sakura in place. "There's a way to lift the shadows off the ground and make them wrap around the enemy so they can't move at all, but it takes a lot more chakra. I haven't got the reserves for it."

A small smile lit up Asagi's features. "If you need more chakra, I can help you out. One advantage of a bloodline is that it gives you _absurd_ chakra reserves. Here, take this, it's the last one I've got." She handed over an ebony shuriken. "Teamwork, right?"

Tatemichi grinned, and closed his hand around the shuriken. "Teamwork." As the points pierced his skin, he felt chakra flowing into him. It was an overwhelmingly strange sensation that made his entire body feel like it was itching. It was unsettling, but at the same time, the influx of power felt remarkably good. He channeled the energy into the trench knife in Sakura's shadow, and gradually felt her struggles becoming weaker as his jutsu started to overpower her. He remembered the countless hours he'd spent practicing this technique. He had heard so many stories from Shikamaru about Asuma's proficiency with it, and he had felt as though achieving mastery of it would bring him closer to his father.

_I wonder if he'd be proud of me. I think so. I wish he could see this!_

The chakra surging through him fluctuated, and he heard a voice in his mind. _Don't you think he can? Would a shinobi let a little thing like being dead stop him from watching over his family?_ Tatemichi remembered the pictures he'd seen of Asuma, and all the things Kurenai, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji had told him about his father. Pride and love flooded through him, and as every shadow in the arena shot out and wrapped itself around Sakura, as one shadow yanked the bell from her and threw it into his outstretched hand, Tatemichi hollered: "WATCH THIS, TOU-SAN!"

* * *

**A/N:** Only one chapter left! Next time, we find out who gets promoted to chuunin, and Naruto makes an awesome speech.

Thanks for reading!


	6. Breaking the Cycle

**Disclaimer:** Since Shikamaru and Temari haven't officially started dating, Sasuke hasn't found some miraculous way to bring Itachi back to life, and Sai hasn't kicked it (sorry, Sai fans), you should be able to tell that I don't own _Naruto_.

* * *

_Chapter 6: Breaking the Cycle_

Everyone in the stands shot to their feet as Tatemichi held the bell aloft. He slowly unclenched his other hand and pulled the shadows back from Sakura. He was having trouble holding onto the bell, because every muscle in his body was trembling wildly. He stumbled, and Asagi tried to catch him, but he could feel that she too was weak. The two of them slumped to the ground, only managing to stay sitting upright by leaning against each other.

Sakura hurried over and knelt down in front of them. She clucked her tongue reprovingly as she gathered chakra in her hands and began examining Tatemichi. "How are you feeling?"

"...I don't know. I feel really strange. I'm shaky all over, and I think I have a fever."

"I thought as much. Rinnegan users have all five chakra types, and your chakra is wind-natured. Most of the chakra you've taken in is incompatible with your own chakra type. It's like getting a blood transfusion from someone with a different blood type: it's making your immune system go haywire." Green energy glowed around her hands as she held them over his chest. "I'm cleansing the foreign chakra from your system. Does that feel better?"

Tatemichi found that he was no longer shivering so violently, and nodded. Sakura turned her attention to Asagi. "As for you, you have barely any chakra left." She rummaged in a pouch at her waist and pulled out a food pill. "Here, eat this."

Asagi accepted the food pill (grimacing at the bitter taste) while Sakura mumbled something about "reckless kids" under her breath.

"Hey," Tatemichi said, ringing the bell he clutched, "at least we passed."

Sakura fixed both of the genin with a very serious look. "Yes, you did...but not because you got the bell."

Asagi, who was trying to wash down the taste of the food pill with a bottle of water, looked at Sakura in confusion. (At least, Sakura _thought_ it was confusion. It was hard to read expressions in those eyes.) "Eh?"

"The two of you passed the minute you started working together." She turned back to Tatemichi. "What you said during the match was true: Naruto wants to create a new future for the ninja world, and part of the path to doing that is changing the qualities we look for in our team captains. All the Third Exam contestants are strong fighters; you wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't. What we're testing here isn't your combat prowess. It's your ability to put aside past differences and work with someone that you had expected to be an enemy."

By this time, the other students and sensei were beginning to join the final two combatants on the field. Yamamoto and Noriki ran up to Tatemichi, beaming, while Shikamaru stood back with a smile of serene pride on his face. But Saji, a member of the Cloud team that had been eliminated during the First Exam, was scowling. "But that's not the way we've always done the Exam!" he burst out. "It's _always_ been about individual battle strength! I mean, how can you expect us to work with someone we don't know, that's from another village, and that we've been competing _against_ for the past two sections? It's _stupid_!"

Tatemichi opened his mouth to retort, but before he could say anything, a blurred figure swept down from the stands and landed right in front of Saji. It was Naruto, wearing his trademark long white coat with the red flames around the bottom hem. "It's not stupid," he said quietly. "It's the only way for us to survive. _All_ the villages have conflicts with each other in their pasts. There isn't a single village on this continent that doesn't have some reason to hold a grudge against the others. But if we keep holding onto those old grudges and fighting each other, we'll just create _more _reasons for the nations to hate each other, and then the wars will _never_ end. At some point, _someone_ has to be the first to let go of their hatred, even if they had a good reason for feeling that way." He looked back over his shoulder at Tatemichi and Asagi, and continued, "See, the thing is, we kinda lied when we said the match-ups for the Third Exam were random. We actually made sure to match people from different villages against each other, to make it harder for them to work as a team. We really wanted to see who, even with all the obstacles of a history of mistrust and war standing in the way, could reach out to an opponent and make them an ally." He glanced back again, favoring the two genin with his famous thousand-watt grin. "If the children of enemies can become allies, then there's hope for this world."

This speech was greeted with applause from most of the onlookers, and Saji had the good grace to look shamefaced.

"That was such a beautiful and youthful speech, Naruto-sama!" Lee exclaimed.

"The Hokage speaks the truth, yo. If you look deep in your hearts, that's something you've gotta know," Killer Bee affirmed.

"So, um, who else got promoted?" Tatemichi asked.

"I was just about to make the official announcement!" Naruto said, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. He cleared his throat, and began: "Citizens of Konoha and honored guests, the Chuunin Exams have officially concluded. We're proud and happy to welcome four newcomers to the ranks of our chuunin: Sarutobi Tatemichi of Konoha, Ootani Toda of Konoha, Mizukami Narita of Kirigakure, and Fuuma Asagi of Amegakure. Congratulations to all of you!"

A huge cheer went up from the spectators, while the four chuunin were engulfed in group hugs from their respective teams. "That was absolutely wonderful," Kurenai told Tatemichi. "I am _so_ proud of you. And your father would have been proud too."

Hundreds of small pieces of paper swirled through the air, eventually solidifying into a banner that read, "CONGRATULATIONS ASAGI". Asagi promptly buried her face in her hands. "_Kaa-san!_" Watching from a short distance away, Shikamaru smirked. _Some things never change. Like the ability of parents to horribly embarrass their teenaged children._

Ootani looked similarly mortified, possibly due to the fact that Lee was loudly proclaiming the virtues of Ootani's "Youthful Brilliance" to anyone who would listen. He was so busy trying to sidle away from his overenthusiastic sensei that he didn't notice Kakashi's approach. "I had to stop on the way here and rescue a kitten from a tree, so I didn't actually see your match, but I'm glad to see you made chuunin. Your great-aunt, Rin-san, who started your family's tradition of being medic-nin, would have been thrilled."

Suigetsu sauntered up to Narita. "Well," he said, "it's good to know you aren't a complete screw-up. Maybe someday you'll even get good enough for me to give you this sword." He twirled the aforementioned sword in the air, then added, "Of course, you've got a long way to go before that, so you better not slack off."

For his part, Naruto surveyed the entire scene with pride and turned his gaze towards the Hokage monument. _And the next generation of saplings stretch their leaves up towards the sun...but this time around, they'll all grow together.

* * *

_**A/N:** And so it ends. It's been a long time since I wrote a multi-chapter story that wasn't a collection of one-shots, so I feel a bit out of practice, but I had fun writing this.

Naruto's coat was meant to look like the one we saw the Fourth wearing a few times in flashbacks.

Thanks so much for reading!


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